Rose
by SaiJin
Summary: It's Valentines Day! But when Shikamaru is unable to get Ino's present, all hell breaks loose. A fluffy fic.


Warnings: Swearing, OOCness (not much)

Parings: Nej/Ten

Tem/Ita

Nar/Hin

Shika/Ino

Kak/Kur

A/N: This is my first posted fic. If people like it, I'll put my others on. I like reviews but try to keep complaints to a minimum. Hope you like it, I wrote this during school so it will reflect on how bored I was.

And thanks to Sai for proof reading this.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't have wrote this. And Itachi would play a bigger part.

ROSE By Jin

She had asked him for three roses; a yellow, a red, and a white. It had been easy enough to get a yellow. The red had been laid to rest in Akamaru's teeth, Sakura had jealously guarded the last white rose.

Thus, Shikamaru found himself outside Ino's house with a single, yellow rose. He knocked cautiously on her door. 7:22am, she should be awake. No sooner had he reached this conclusion than the door swung open. "Shikamaru!"

Shika gulped "Um…hi, Ino. Happy Valentines…"

"One rose?" Ino shouted. "You got me one rose, and it's not even RED!"

"Ino, wait." Shika said hurriedly, "Akamaru chewed up the red one and Sakura got the last white one… Besides, you own a flower shop, why do you need extra flowers?"

This evidently was the wrong thing to say. Ino's jaw dropped. "You…bu…YOU BASTARD! I ask you for three roses, JUST THREE ROSES, and you can't even do that for me!"

Shika didn't hear what Ino said next, but before he could reply, the door was slammed in his face. Once recovered from his initial shock, he turned and walked despondently away.

Ino left the house a few minutes later, opting to find someone to dump her sorrows on. The first couple she found was none other than Hinata and Naruto.

They were at the Ramen bar (Well, duh) having what Naruto considered a romantic breakfast. Ino sat down next to Hinata. "Hey…"

"Ino?" Naruto said with his mouth full. "Where's Shikamaru?"

"Oh…him…He's around…"

"D-Did you guys have a fight?" Hinata asked, blushing slightly.

Ino snorted, trying to act indifferent, "Yeah, so? It's his fault."

Naruto blinked. "His fault? I thought it would be…"

Ino sighed. "Um…I'm going to go now… maybe find someone else to spend the day with."

"Someone else" presented itself in the form of Neji and Tenten, sitting on a bench near the cherry blossoms.

Tenten saw Ino first. "Ino? I thought you were with Shikamaru?"

"We had a fight."

"Already?" Neji asked.

"Neji!" Tenten scolded. "So, what happened?"

"I wanted three roses." Ino said bitterly. "But he only got me one."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "One? Gee, even I did better than that."

Ino hung her head. "I won't interrupt you anymore."

"You don't have to go," Tenten said.

"But you should," Neji quipped.

Ino didn't reply, just turned around to leave.

Shika was walking down the street, hands in his pockets, ignoring where he was going.

"Hey, Shika?" A soft voice intercepted his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Lost your date already?" Kurenai asked.

"Sort of…" Shika looked around. "Where's Kakashi?"

"He's behind me," Kurenai turned around. "Kakashi! Get away from that bookstore!"

"Buy me a book please?"

"No! I don't buy porn!"

"Pwease?" Kakashi put on a puppy-dog look.

Kurenai gave an exasperated sigh. "Okay, fine, but you do not read it today! See you around, Shikamaru!"

"Yeah," He sighed insincerely, turning away, "God, this sucks…"

Ino poured her entire story out to Sakura, who tried her best to comfort her friend.

"He didn't mean to upset you…think of it this way, at least he tries to give you presents…I heard Temari saying she never gets anything."

"Of course she never gets anything. She likes a psychopathic killer."

"Still, Ino, it's the thought that counts…"

"He doesn't think, that's the problem!"

That poor, unthinking boy was strolling along the edge of Konoha when he nearly tripped over a rose. A red rose.

Shika picked it up, then heard some one saying-

"He loves me-" a rose was flung from behind a tree. "-he loves me not…" A short period of silence followed. "He loves me… he loves me not… shit!"

Shika went cautiously around the tree. Temari was now clutching a singled red rose. "That asshole! He doesn't love me!"

Shika held out the rose, "Um, you missed one."

"Really?" Temari grabbed the rose and flung it over her shoulder. "He loves me!"

Shika sighed. "Lucky you."

"What?" Temari paused in her celebrations.

"Ino and I had a fight."

"That was fast. It's only nine o'clock."

"Gee, thanks. Why are you all alone?"

"I'm waiting, why else?" Temari growled. "Because someone sent me a bunch of roses, but doesn't deliver them himself, and says I must meet him at 8:30. Is he here, of course not."

"Yare yare," Shika sighed, "seems like I'm not the only one with relationship problems."

"We don't have any problems," Itachi intercepted testily, suddenly coming up behind Temari.

"Okay Itachi, where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"You promised me a card and a white rose."

"What did the bunch say?"

"The bunch?"

"Yep," Itachi stared into her eyes. "Do I love you?"

"Apparently."

Shika took a step back.

"Fine then," Itachi produced a single, white rose with a tiny card tied around the stem.

Temari grabbed it, then snarled at Itachi, "You call this a card?"

Shika peered over her shoulder. It read:

Temari,

Here's your bloody rose

Don't ask for another.

Itachi.

"You didn't even say 'love from'" Temari whined.

Itachi rolled is eyes and took a pencil from his pocket, drawing a little heart next to his name. "There. Happy now?"

"Yes," Temari breathed, now ecstatic. "Thank you!"

Shika left, despairing of what to do.

"Wait, Nara!" Temari called. She jogged over to him. "You'll need these."

She handed him a red and a white rose. Shika stared at them for a minute. "Thanks Temari."

Ino found Kakashi and Kurenai sitting together. Reading.

"What are you reading?" Ino asked.

"Kakashi's Valentines present." Kurenai replied.

Ino screwed up her face. "Not more porn?"

"Don't call it that." Kakashi said. "Call it, inappropriate hentai-ism."

"Sure. Have you seen Shikamaru?"

"He was here a while ago." Kurenai asked vaguely.

Ino rolled her eyes. "That helps. Okay, I'll find him myself."

She strolled off in the approximate direction of Temari and Itachi.

Shika made a quick stop at home for his yellow rose. Tying the three up with a blue ribbon, he raced outside.

Ino was back at home, and she frowned when she saw Shika. "What are you here for?"

Breathless, Shika held out the roses. "I brought…your present…"

Ino's eyes widened, "Shika! Thank you!" She took the roses, then screamed. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Not again…"

"You left the thorns on them! Ow, now I've cut my hand!"

Shika hung his head. Typical! Temari would do something like that.

He walked slowly away.

"Second time, huh?"

Shika looked up to see Gaara. "Yeah…this just isn't my day."

"You really didn't expect Temari to give you roses without thorns?"

Shika stared at the ground.

"I think I can help you."

Shika looked up. "You'll help me?"

"I don't really understand this whole Valentines thing, but Temari taught me some-thing. Love is important, and, right now, you seem to be lacking something important."

Shika was impressed. "But how can you help?"

"I've been watching you," Gaara admitted, "And I think I've solved your problem."

"Really?"

"She wanted a yellow, white and red ne?"

"Yeah…"

"Give her this." Gaara handed Shika wrapped in crispy white paper.

"Thanks Gaara," Shika said, "I'll remember this."

Gaara shrugged, embarrassed. "Sure… whatever."

Shika unwrapped the object.

It was one rose, a pink rose with the inner and center petals a pale yellow, tinted with orange.

Three roses in one.

For the third time that morning, Shika stood outside Ino's door. He held the rose nervously in both hands. 9:28, two hours and six minutes since our last try… Ring the doorbell.

Ino flung the door open.

Before she could say anything, he said in a rush, "I know you wanted three roses…red, white and yellow… but I couldn't get them. So I got this rose…it's got all three colours in it so you are getting the three you wanted just not separate…"

"Shh…" Ino cut him off. "I've been thinking about that. Sakura made me think about it and I realized… it's the thought that counts. And you were thinking about me. I just didn't see it at first"

Shika smiled, now very relieved. "Gee, Ino… yare yare, I don't know what to say…"

"Just say that you'll get my roses next year…"

Shika sighed. "Mendokusee… okay, I promise."

"Really?"

"Yeah… really…"

Ino smiled radiantly and threw her arms around his neck. "You know, this might be the best Valentines Day ever…"

"She loves me…"

"Itachi!"

"She loves me not…"

"Stop tearing up my rose!"

"She loves me." Itachi sighed loudly. "Oh dear, now I have to plan for next year…"

"Give me that!" Temari yelled. "Ow! You bastard! You didn't take the thorns off!"

"So," Shika said carefully, "Want to go out for lunch…?"

"Yes. Definitely."


End file.
